Monday, June 18, 2007

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

Special thanks to Grandma Warnock, K Doc, and Irene Giles for sending the accounts they found.

Construction worker killed at Atlanta airport

ATLANTA, GA -- Authorities are investigating the death of a construction worker killed after being run over at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Airport spokesman Hershel Grangent says the man was killed while working about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the site of what will be the airport's new international terminal when he was run over by a vehicle - most likely a dump truck. Authorities have NOT released his name. The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.


Farmer killed when tractor hit by drunk driver

IA - Lance Ropte, 58, of Humboldt, was killed Thursday night when the tractor he was driving on a county road just north of Badger in Webster County was hit from the rear. Ropte was ejected from the tractor and pronounced dead on the scene, according to an Iowa State Patrol crash report. The driver of the car the struck Ropte's tractor, Georgia Christianson, 40, of Dakota City, was arrested and charged with first-offense drunken driving and taken to Webster County Jail. Christianson was uninjured, according to the reports. Christianson was released with supervision to the department of corrections until her next court hearing, according to police officials with Webster County Jail. The accident remains under investigation.


Funeral services set for Jackson teacher killed in school van crash

BELZONI, Miss. (AP) - Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Saturday) for Connie Harrell, the Jackson Public Schools teacher who was killed this week near Mendenhall in a van wreck that left six others injured. Services will be held at 1 pm at Humphreys County High School Auditorium in Belzoni. The seven people in the van were employees of Jackson's Walton Elementary School. They were going to a conference in Biloxi when the accident occurred Monday on US 49. Mendenhall Deputy Police Chief Bruce Barlow said the accident was under investigation. All of the others who were injured have been treated and released from several hospitals. Jackson Public Schools spokeswoman Peggy Hampton said Harrell went to work at Walton in 1998 as a first-grade teacher. Hampton said this was her first year as literacy coach.


Man charged in co-worker's stabbing death

Tampa, Florida - A 42-year-old Tampa man has been charged with killing his co-worker, but police won't disclose the motive. Catalino Burgoes faces numerous charges including second degree murder in the stabbing death of 59-year-old Victor Batista. Batista was stabbed to death last week outside his mobile home at 6700 N. Rome Avenue. Police say it Batista had just returned home from the Grocery Store when he was killed. The trunk of his car was open and it was full of groceries. Burgoes is charged in the death but he's not in jail. He is being treated at Tampa General Hospital for an undisclosed problem but will be taken to the Hillsborough County Jail after he is discharged.


Marion County Deputy Sheriff, Father of Two, Killed in Car Crash

SALEM, Ore. - Deputy KELLY JAMES FREDINBURG, age 33, joined the Marion County Sheriff's Office in August 2006. A Marion County Deputy Sheriff was killed and three others injured Saturday night in a two vehicle head-on crash on Highway 99E north of Gervais. The names are not being released at this time. At approximately 11:30 PM a Marion County Sheriff's Office Deputy was southbound on Highway 99E near milepost 36 responding to assist another department. Preliminary investigation indicates the Deputy had his marked patrol car emergency lights and siren activated. The patrol car crashed head-on with a northbound white Ford Crown Victoria. After impact, both vehicles came to rest off the west side of the highway. The Deputy's patrol car overturned and caught fire. The other vehicle did not catch fire.


Park Police detective dies

MD - Funeral services are Saturday for a detective with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police who died on Monday. Brent LaMere, 32, of Damascus fell ill at work Monday in Silver Spring, and co-workers urged him to go to a hospital, said Park Police Lt. Brian Smith. LaMere drove himself to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville and collapsed as he walked across the parking lot, Smith said. He could not be revived. The cause of death has not been released. LaMere worked for Park Police for 12 years, first signing on as a volunteer in 1995. He was named the agency’s ‘‘Detective of the Year” in 2003 and 2006, according to Park Police. He became a patrol officer in 1998 and was promoted to detective in 2003, working in the Investigative Services Section to solve robberies, rapes and thefts in the bi-county Planning Commission’s Montgomery County parks.


Roofer electrocuted while working on Oak Lawn building

IL - Investigation continues in to death of a 26-year-old roofer after he was electrocuted Monday by a power line in Oak Lawn. David Vainisi, of Chicago, was killed while laying tile on the roof of a building at 10220 Cicero Ave., Oak Lawn Police Division Chief Keith Raspovich said. One minute, he was working. The next he was fatally shocked by a ComEd power line dangling perilously close to the building, Oak Lawn police said. The current instantaneously charred the man's body, pitching it partially over the edge of the commercial building, igniting a small fire and welding shut a door inside the building, police said. No one besides the victim was injured in the incident, and power was cut indefinitely to the building, authorities said. The victim's shovel may have inadvertently touched the line or electricity may have "arced," or jumped, from the power line to him, police Division Chief Michael Kaufmann said.


Mississippi Firefighter Dies on the Job

MS - A couple hours after DeSoto County remembered fallen public safety officers Friday, a Eudora fireman was stricken while prepping vehicles for training exercises. Jeffrey Lynn "J.J." Jeans, 46, was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, where he was taken in the same ambulance that he drove for a living. Jeans' death has been ruled in the line of duty; officials said his name will be added to the courthouse memorial where National Peace Officer's Memorial Day was observed Friday morning. Emergency services officials were busy Monday arranging for a hero's funeral with full honors for Jeans. The farewell will include a procession of pumpers, ladder trucks and other firefighting equipment that could stretch for miles.


State police officer dies in motorcycle crash

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A state police officer died after losing control of his state issued motorcycle and colliding with a parked tractor-trailer, state police said early Thursday. The accident involving officer Christopher Mirabal happened just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at Gerald Champion Hospital less than an hour later. State police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Tingwall said Mirabal lost control of his motorcycle after hitting the curb on the right side of the road, which sent the bike skidding across the road and into the parked truck. Mirabal had been a member of the state police motorcycle unit since July 2004. He graduated from the state police academy in December 1998.



Worker dies, another missing after accident on new bridge

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- One worker died and another was missing Thursday after a column under construction collapsed on a newly opened bridge, sending nine workers plunging into the Bay of St. Louis, officials said. Eight workers were taken to area hospitals following the accident on the U.S. 90 bridge, a two-mile span that partially opened to traffic last month. One of those workers later died, said George Mixon, Harrison County's fire marshal. Five of the workers were taken to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, where Alger Pennamn, 51, from Jackson, was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, said Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove. Hargrove said the cause of death would likely be drowning, pending results of an autopsy. The four other workers at Memorial were listed in stable condition, said Ginger Worth, a hospital spokeswoman. She would not release the names. Three workers at Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis were listed in stable condition, said Mary Harris, co-manager of the Hancock emergency room. She would not release their names. One of the nine workers who fell into the water was still missing several hours after the accident, said Bay St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief Louis Prendergast.


Man killed by bulldozer is identified

CA - The Contra Costa County coroner today identified a man who died when he was pulled under a bulldozer at a Richmond landfill as Morris Blair of West Virginia. Blair, 64, had stopped his bulldozer about 2 p.m. Wednesday and was climbing out of it when he hit a lever that put it in reverse, said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is investigating the accident. When the bulldozer started backing up, Blair tried to jump back into the vehicle, but slipped and his leg became caught between a platform and the bulldozer's metal tracks, Fryer said. Blair was pulled under the bulldozer and killed. "It's a pretty tragic accident," Fryer said. "Our job is to find out if it could have been prevented, if there were any problems with the equipment, if there were issues of training that should have been addressed." Fryer said it would take at least two months, and up to six months, to finish the investigation.


One killed in trench collapse in movie theatre construction site

AZ - One man is dead after a trench collapsed inside a movie theatre under construction in north central Phoenix. It happened at a Harkins theatre being built at the Spectrum Mall on Montebello Ave. Fire investigators say a 30-year-old man was working in a trench, approx. 5' to 6' deep, inside the theatre Saturday afternoon. At some point, the trench collapsed and filled with dirt and concrete. Rescue crews arrived, but were unable to get any vital signs from the victim. Crews are now working to recover the body from the construction site. Investigators from OSHA have been called to the scene.



Insurance agent slain in St. Charles

T. CHARLES, MO — The St. Louis Area Major Case Squad is investigating the killing of an insurance agent who was found shot several times Friday in his office on First Capitol Drive. St. Charles police identified the man as Robert Eidman, 48, of St. Peters, who they believe had been working alone. The killing is the first homicide in St. Charles this year. Eidman owned and operated the Brooke Auto Insurance office at 2295 First Capitol Drive, according to its website. The office is in a strip mall just north of Interstate 70.


Ohio Man Killed When Scaffolding Collapses At Shopping Mall

INDIANAPOLIS -- Scaffolding collapsed Saturday at a shopping mall construction site, killing a worker and critically injuring another after both fell about 40 feet, police said. The worker who died at the Castleton Square Mall was a 29-year-old man from Van Wert, Ohio. He suffered head injuries in the accident, said Indianapolis police Sgt. Matthew Mount. Van Wert is about 70 miles southwest of Toledo, near the Indiana line. Abe Mallis, 39, of Greensburg, Ind., was airlifted to Methodist Hospital with massive head and chest injuries about an hour after the collapse. He was listed in critical condition. Mount said four workers were working on a project at the mall when they noticed a pin had become dislodged on the scaffolding that held them up. When Mallis and the other man went to replace the pin, their combined weight was apparently too great and a cable holding up the east end of the scaffolding snapped, causing that portion of the structure to collapse. Mount said the victims fell 40 feet onto a mixture of gravel, cement and hard ground. "The two individuals' safety cables were not fastened in the correct manner and they fell with the scaffolding," he said. The two other workers ended up dangling in the air on their cables, which had been properly fastened, he said. Neither worker was injured and they were soon pulled to safety. Investigators from the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called to the scene.


Mass. man identified as person killed in I-95 crash

VA - A Massachusetts man has been identified by Virginia state police as the victim in Wednesday afternoon's fatal wreck on Interstate 95 in Richmond. State police Sgt. Tom Cunningham yesterday said Patrick Sullivan, 25, of New Bedford, Mass., was killed in the fiery crash after being ejected from a tractor-trailer cab that collided with four cars and burst into flames. The cab jumped a highway median into oncoming northbound traffic just under the Belvidere Street overpass. Cunningham said Sullivan was not wearing a safety belt and might have been resting in the sleeper portion of the tractor-trailer at the time of the crash. Officials said the accident was triggered around 2 p.m. when the driver of the tractor-trailer, Nicholas Waleka, struck a Honda Accord sedan twice in the southbound lanes of the interstate. Cunningham said Waleka overcorrected to the left in an attempt to regain control of the tractor-trailer, which sent the vehicle hurtling across the concrete median separating the highway's northbound and southbound lanes.


Hamilton County truck driver killed in accident on I-164

IL - John Adam Allen, 31, rural McLeansboro, died Wednesday morning when the tractor-trailer he was driving left Interstate 164 east of Evansville, Ind. and went into a creek near the Lynch Road intersection. The accident occurred about 10:20 a.m. Allen was northbound when the unit he was driving left the road and plunged more than 30 feet into Pigeon Creek, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. The highway was closed for at least an hour as authorities attempted to clean up the situation. The newspaper said investigators found no skid marks or indication that Allen slowed down or braked before leaving the highway. His vehicle traveled up a grassy median for about 100 yards near the Lynch Road interchange, went over an embankment, went airborne and then plunged into the creek, the newspaper said. A witness reported the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed, it added. The cab was submerged in the creek beneath the trailer, and cables from two tow trucks were needed to move the wreckage, the report indicated. Rescue workers worked for more than two hours to get to Allen. "It was obvious when we got here that the person died on impact," Chief Deputy Sheriff David Wedding told the media. "This vehicle is basically destroyed. The cab is in several pieces."


Man crushed by crane at Gilbert pit mine

GILBERT, Minn. - A worker at a Minorca Mine in Gilbert was crushed by a mobile crane and died at a hospital today. Firefighters were called to the mine around noon and found the man pinned under the crane. They freed him and took him to the hospital in Virginia, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released. This is the third mining-related fatality on the Iron Range in less than a year.


Disgruntled employee shoots co-worker at Florida doctor's office, then kills self

SARASOTA, FL - A doctor's office employee who thought she was going to be fired fatally shot the office manager Friday morning, then went home and killed herself, authorities said. The shooter, Jacquelyn Ann Ferguson, 51, was found dead at her Bradenton home about three hours after fleeing the office in nearby Sarasota, said Sarasota County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato. The slain woman was identified as Denise Keyworth, 45, of Sarasota. "The suspect believed she was going to be terminated today and showed up with a gun and shot the victim," Lesaltato said. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported on its Web site that one of its reporters found Ferguson's body. She had an apparent head wound and a revolver in her lap, the newspaper reported. Deputies were watching the house when the reporter walked up to the front door, Lesaltato said. They confronted the journalist, who told them he had looked in a window and seen Ferguson dead on the back patio, Lesaltato said. Twelve other employees were in the offices of cardiologist Dr. Jeffrey Sack at the time of the shooting, and they walked out of the building with their hands in the air, Lesaltato said. Deputies stormed the building but found that Ferguson had fled.


Worker dies in fall from Buckhead high-rise

GA - A construction worker was killed and another seriously hurt Thursday when they fell 30 to 60 feet while working on a building under construction in Buckhead, authorities said. Officials said the men were working on the 31st floor of a 32-story building in the 3300 block of Peachtree Road when they fell to the 27th floor shortly before 1 p.m. One man died at the scene. His name has not been released. The second man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with severe head injuries, said Atlanta fire department spokesman Bobby White.


After murder at insurance office, business neighbors are leery

AZ - Two bouquets of flowers, a card and a burning candle are all that sit outside the small, dark office of C and R Insurance on West Indian School Road near 75th Avenue. A sign on the door from owner Edward Parker notifies customers that the business will be closed all week. This is where 18-year-old Norma Gabriella Contreras' throat was slit with a box cutter as she worked alone on Saturday. Other than her car, wallet and cell phone being taken, police have no other motive for the crime. Contreras had only worked there about two months. Mari Singleton, an acquaintance that works at the Accident Chiropractic next door, said Contreras worked alone on weekends from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Singleton spoke to Contreras frequently to refer customers or engage in neighborly conversation. "She was a really nice girl," Singleton said. "It's a shame for her to be gone, especially so young."


Highway Worker Loses Life

VA - A highway worker died near South Riding shortly after 1 p.m. today after a company work truck struck him. David Rodriguez, 66, of Manassas, was walking on the side of westbound Rt. 50 near Pinebrook Road when a Ford F-550 heavy duty work truck backed up and struck him, said Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene. Rodriguez worked for a company that was subcontracted by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The workers were preparing to repaint the lines along westbound Rt. 50 and were placing cones along the roadway when Rodriguez was killed.


Crash That Killed 6 Could Result In 7 Deaths

MI - On the morning of the crash, the Ann Arbor hospital's Survival Flight Team had received word that an organ was available at an unidentified hospital in the Milwaukee area and immediately assembled to take it to Ann Arbor, officials said. The team included two veterans, cardiac surgeon Martinus "Martin" Spoor and transplant donation specialist Richard Chenault II, who had flown dozens of such missions. Also on the team was David Ashburn, a 35-year-old physician-in-training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, and another transplant donation specialist, Richard LaPensee. The team flew to Milwaukee, and the two surgeons removed the donor's organ, which was then packaged for transport. The team contacted the Ann Arbor hospital and gave the go-ahead for the surgery to begin on the transplant patient at 2:45 p.m., Punch said. The plane took off as light rain fell with winds at 12 mph, gusting to 22 mph. At the controls were Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra, two pilots who worked for Marlin Air, the university's jet-service contractor. The plane hit the water at about 190 mph, authorities said.


Union Pacific employee killed in truck accident; MVD confirms Arthur Mendoza did not have correct license

AZ - A Union Pacific employee, who died in a single-vehicle rollover along Highway 191 last Tuesday, did not have a commercial driver's license as required by state law for the truck he was driving. The driver, Arthur O. Mendoza, 49, of Tucson, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, Errol McDonald, 49, also of Tucson, was airlifted to University Medical Center where he was treated and released, said Officer Quentin G. Mehr, District 8 administrative officer, Arizona Department of Public Safety. The accident occurred at about 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, when the company truck Mendoza was driving, a 2000 Volvo, was traveling northbound and ran off the road to the right, Mehr said. Mendoza attempted to correct, going off to the left, and then went off to the right again, running through a right-of-way fence. The truck rolled over on its top, where it came to rest, he said.


DOT employee dies in crash

HAVELOCK, NC — A 4:30 p.m. crash on Adams Creek Road killed one man and closed the road for about 30 minutes Tuesday. The wreck occurred when a N.C. Department of Transportation utility truck traveling west near the 1700 block of Adams Creek Road ran off the right side of road onto the shoulder and overcorrected, said Sgt. Timothy Daniels of the N.C. Highway Patrol.That maneuver took the bucket truck to the left shoulder of the road, where it overturned and hit a tree, Daniels said. He said speed was a factor in the crash. The highway patrol identified the driver as Brian Lee Spradlin, 38, of Havelock, a DOT traffic service employee. Trooper Jose Magana was dispatched to investigate the crash, which happened in a residential area about nine miles north of Havelock, about 1 1/2 miles down Adams Creek Road from N.C. 101.



UPS Investigates after Employee Killed by Feeder Truck

IL - A UPS employee dies after she was hit by a truck Tuesday morning. Susan Nance, 55, of South Beloit was walking from the UPS main building to the scale house. Police say that's when she was hit by another employee driving a feeder truck. Nance was taken to Rockford Memorial Hospital. The Winnebago County Coroner's office says she died of severe head injuries just before 8:00 Tuesday night. A statement from UPS says employee safety is important and the company is investigating the accident.


WNY farmer killed by bull he was trying to free from fence

SCIO, N.Y. (AP) - A western New York farmer has died from injuries he suffered when he was gored by a bull that had gotten tangled in a fence. State police say 78-year-old William Middaugh died early yesterday, a few hours after suffering head and chest injuries on his property in rural Allegany County. Trooper say the bull got caught in a wire fence on Middaugh's property near Scio (SYE'-oh). Police say the bull broke free and turned on the farmer, goring him several times. Troopers said Middaugh died of crushing chest injuries.


Police release name of highway worker killed on U.S. 169

OK - A Department of Transportion worker was killed on U.S. 169 Wednesday morning. While police investigated, the highway's northbound lanes were closed from Interstate 244 north. Police identifed the worker as Robert Cherry, 42. Shortly after 8 a.m. a motorist reported debris on the highway and the Department of Transportation was notified, Tulsa police spokesman Jason Willingham said. Cherry was dragging tree limbs from the roadway when he was struck and killed by a dump truck, Willingham said. Police are looking for anyone who may have seen the vehicle that left the limbs on the highway, Willingham said.


Contract worker killed at BP's Texas City refinery

TX - The worker, whose name was not immediately released (Richard Liening, 44), was employed by AMEX Electrical Services Inc., BP said. He was electrocuted Tuesday while working on an idle unit that was being reconditioned for a restart, the company said. "We immediately began an investigation into the incident and we notified the appropriate authorities," including the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell. BP released no other details of the accident. The Texas City refinery was the site of a 2005 explosion that killed 15 people and injured 170, the worst U.S. industrial accident since 1990.


Newark Airport cargo employee killed

NEWARK — A cargo worker at Newark Liberty International Airport died early this morning after he was struck by a 750-pound piece of equipment used to stabilize the rear section of a plane during loading and unloading. Timothy Gallagher, an employee of Worldwide Flight Services, was towing a tailstand for an Eva Airlines Boeing 747 when the 16.5-foot-tall structure fell over and struck him in the head and upper torso, said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. The incident happened just after midnight, about 12:25 a.m., outside Terminal B where planes are positioned when they are loading and unloading. He was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark at 1:22 a.m., DiFulco said. The Port Authority is investigating the accident, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been briefed, he said. Officials believe Gallagher was about 40 years old, and his last known address was in Jersey City.


Jaguar Attack Was an Accident

NY - A fatal jaguar attack on a Denver Zoo keeper was "a tragic accident," police investigators concluded, but their report did not address why the door to the animal's cage was open. Investigators found no evidence of a crime in the February death of Ashlee Pfaff, 27, and closed their case, according to a 14-page police report obtained by the Rocky Mountain News. The 140-pound jaguar named Jorge got into an employee access hallway and then pounced on Pfaff. Officials were unsure of what Pfaff was doing at the time of the attack. Zoo officials found no faulty doors, locks or gates, and zoo employees told a homicide detective "they had no reason to believe what happened to Pfaff was more than a tragic accident," according to the report.


Taxi driver killed in apparent road rage incident

BALTIMORE, MD - Baltimore police say a taxi driver was shot to death tonight in Charles Village in an apparent case of road rage. It happened around 9 pm in the 100 block of West 28th Street. Police say the driver argued with someone in dark colored car, who then pulled out a gun and shot the taxi driver in the head. After the driver was shot, the taxi collided with two other cars on the street. Police say the passenger in the taxi and people in the other cars were not hurt. Police say the taxi driver was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.


Construction Worker Dies In Accident

PHOENIX, AZ - A construction worker has died on the job in the west Valley. "Rural/Metro Fire Department received a 911 call reporting that a person had been crushed by a pipe at a construction site," said Alison Cooper with Rural/Metro Fire Department. "The calling party initially reported that the person was crushed underneath that pipe, but still did have a weak pulse." Cooper said the accident happened at a construction site near El Mirage and Glendale roads. Cooper said crews responded to the construction site and confirmed the fatality. The scene has been turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.


Tex. officer dies in car wreck

ABILENE, Texas — An Abilene police officer died today when another car slammed into his patrol car this morning. The crash happened before dawn today on South 14th Street in southwestern Abilene, about a mile west of McMurry University. Police reports say Officer Jeff McCoy was on routine patrol when an oncoming car crossed into his lane and crashed into the driver's side of his patrol car. That shoved the patrol car into a utility pole, killing McCoy. Police identified the driver of the other car as 28-year-old Marcus Suarez. Police Sergeant Doug Wrenn says he was taken to Hendrick Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Wrenn says no decision will be made on charges until toxicology test results are available. McCoy is the first Abilene police officer to die in the line of duty since 1954. He was an 18-year veteran of the Abilene police force and the married father of a 2-year-old daughter.


Cab driver in crash that killed musician dies at hospital

BOSTON, NY - A second man is dead following a high-speed chase in Somerville more than a week ago. Authorities say Walid Chahine died yesterday of injuries sustained in the May 26th accident. The 45-year-old Chahine was driving a cab that was struck by an SUV fleeing a police stop. 1 of Chahine's passengers, Paul Farris, died soon after the crash. Farris' girlfriend Katelyn Hoyt, who was also in the cab, was injured and remains in critical condition. The driver of the SUV, 29-year-old Javier Morales of Somerville, pleaded not guilty at his hospital room arraignment last week to one count of motor vehicle homicide and ten counts of failing to stop for police. Prosecutors are expected to seek a second charge of motor vehicle homicide against Morales. Police are investigating whether proper pursuit policies were followed.


Factory Worker Dies After Hair Gets Caught In Machine

CHICAGO -- A 32-year-old worker at a Southwest Side plastics company was killed Monday after her hair became tangled in a piece of machinery, Chicago police said. The company, R. Popernik Co., 2313 W. 59th St., manufactures plastic food-storage and frozen-food bags. "The entire company is grieving her loss," R. Popernik said in a statement, calling the woman's death an "unfortunate accident." Chicago firefighters were called about 7 a.m. to the scene for an ambulance, but when they arrived, Ana Campechano already was dead, fire department spokesman Richard Rosado said. Campechano lived in the 6500 block of South Troy Avenue. Her hair became caught in a turbine at the plant, authorities said. Popernik has a clean record with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Scott Allen, regional deputy director for public affairs. OSHA is investigating, he said.


Private Sanitation Worker Dies After Fall From Garbage Truck

NY - A private sanitation worker was killed Sunday night after he fell from the back of a garbage truck in Brooklyn. Police say the 33-year-old man was riding on the back step of the truck near Essex and Fulton Streets in East New York when he fell and hit his head at around 8:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses say the rainy weather probably made for dangerous driving and slippery conditions on the truck. "That's a tragedy, an accident – the rain, the weather, messed up street,” said a witness. “Hey, things happen, and I'm sorry that it had to happen to someone like that."


Pizza Delivery Man Killed

Summerville, SC - A pizza delivery man is gunned down just steps from where he was to drop off a pizza in Summerville. Police say someone tried to rob him and they are still looking for the shooter. The shooting happened in the Greenhurst neighborhood in Summerville Saturday night. A person who used to live there for two years says it was a great place to live. "We have great neighbors. It's a great neighborhood. Mostly with working people, and some retired," said Pam Carpenter. Things changed on Beatrice Lane when police say the delivery man was killed while on the job. "I feel that it is a tragedy. A real tragedy," added Carpenter. The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office says the delivery man was trying to drop off the pizza, but never did. When he got to the house, someone tried to rob him, and later shot him.


Co-worker argument leads to shooting death

LA - A man died late Thursday night after he and a co-worker got into an argument that led to gunfire, Shreveport police say. The shooting was reported at 11:15 p.m., according to Caddo 911 call records. The body lay off the 1600 block of the Spring Street service road, between Ernest’s Orleans Restaurant and Buckelew’s Food Service Equipment Co. Both men involved in the violent argument were wounded by gunfire, Shreveport police Detective Sgt. Jody Jones said. Jones did not say both fired weapons, only that the person who shot the dead man was being treated at LSU Hospital. The men worked at a business near where the body was found, Jones said. He withheld the name of both men.


Driver killed in crash; fuel leak is a concern

NEWFANE, VT — A driver was killed when his fuel oil delivery truck veered off Route 30 and tumbled into the West River, setting off a scramble to keep 2,400 gallons of diesel fuel from leaking into the river. Vermont State Police identified the driver as Eduard Lashua, 31, of Guilford, who was heading northbound on Route 30 near the Townsend town line around 10 a.m. when his truck struck guardrails and went off the road, falling about 35 feet into the river. The area is locally known as the Salmon Hole, according to Newbrook Fire Chief Todd Lawley. It is about a quarter mile north on Route 30 from the Dutton Farm's strawberry fields. Officials estimated that up to 100 gallons of diesel leaked from the truck, which was carrying close to 2,400 gallons — almost its full load — when it rolled down an embankment and crashed into the river. The truck belonged to Barrows & Fisher Oil Co. of Brattleboro.


Farmer Killed By Dirt Cave-In

Mazeppa, Minn. - A rural Mazeppa man is dead after a bank of dirt caved in on his dairy farm. The Goodhue County Sheriff's Department says 47-year-old Steven Staub died yesterday afternoon while digging a trench. Authorities say members of Staub's family checked-in on him at about 4:00 p.m. Thursday but when they returned an hour later, the found Staub buried up to his neck in compacted dirt. A Mayo Clinic helicopter responded to a call for help but efforts to revive him failed.


Two government employees killed in Wayne County plane crash

UT - Two people doing predator control work were killed when a state-owned airplane they were in crashed today in rural Wayne County. The single engine airplane went down around 8:30 a.m. on Parker Mountain located near the towns of Loa and Bicknell, the Federal Aviation Administration said. "The pilot and passenger both perished," Tal Ehlers with Wayne County Search and Rescue said, adding that the plane caught fire. Names of the dead were being withheld pending notification of family members. The single-engine Husky Aviat A-1 plane belonged to the Utah Department of Agriculture and was doing predator control work, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. "The FAA and (National Transportation Safety Board) are en route there to begin investigation," he said. Utah Department of Agriculture spokesman Larry Lewis said the people on-board were federal employees with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife services program.


City Worker Killed While Mowing Grass

DETROIT, Mich. -- Detroit police are investigating the death of a 45-year-old man who was run over by his lawn mower Wednesday while cutting the grass at a Detroit city park. Detroit city spokesman James Canning said the man was a seasonal worker with General Services Department and was cutting the grass at Eliza Howell Park on the city's west side. The worker was identified as Tony Harris. Canning said Harris had been employed by the city for the past four years, but this was his first year actually cutting grass. Harris' sister, Rachelle King, said Harris' wife and other family members were notified about 2:30 p.m. video


Construction Worker Killed By Rocks, Dirt, Man Announced Dead At Scene

FELTON, Calif. -- A construction worker was killed Tuesday after finishing a construction job in Santa Cruz County. The incident happened at the Granite Construction quarry in Felton. The hillside crashed down on 44-year-old Clark Gamble, crushing everything from the waist down. Rescuers and co-workers tried to save Gamble, who was pinned by the rubble. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Rescuers said the weight of the large rocks and heavy dirt was too much. Gamble was part of a four-man crew installing a storm drain on a steep hillside


Traer farmer killed in accident

TRAER - A Tama County farmer died Monday from injuries sustained in a farm accident. Frank Sebetka, 81, of Traer, was cutting hay when family members believe the mower conditioner became clogged, his wife Euna Sebetka said. He had shut down the tractor and put the brake on before he climbed down to remove the blockage, she said. Somehow, the equipment ran over him. One of Sebetka's sons, who was on his way to help his father, found him lying in the field. Sebetka said Frank Sebetka was talking when his son found him. He died shortly after arriving at Covenant Medical Center Monday night.


KY Police Chief Shot, Killed by Prisoner

CLAY CITY, Ky. - A small-town police chief in eastern Kentucky was shot to death Wednesday after making an arrest, state police said. Police Chief Randy Lacy was allegedly shot by a man he was transporting to the Powell County on a charge of driving under the influence, state police spokesman Phil Crumpton said. Charges were pending against suspect Jamie Barnett, 37, for Lacy's death, Crumpton said. Lacy was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:35 a.m. by Powell County Coroner Carl Wells. "It's a terrible tragedy. I can't tell the family how sorry I am for their loss," Clay City Mayor Jimmy Caudill said. Lacy, 55, had served as police chief of Clay City since 2004, but began serving in law enforcement in 1985. Garland Lacy, the police chief's brother, said he learned about the shooting while listening to a police scanner.


Worker found dead in freezer

LIHUE, Hawaii - An autopsy was ordered to determine what killed a forklift driver found dead in a freezer where he worked on Kauai. Police Captain Ale Quibilan says the unidentified man had been pinned by a forklift he had been operating at Kauai Beverage and Ice Cream Company. But Quibilan says officials are unsure whether Monday's death was caused by the accident or by the cold. He says the 28-year-old man was assigned to shift food items in and out of the freezer.


One Dead Following Accident On Route 22

BURGETTSTOWN, PA - A construction worker is dead following an accident that shut down part of South Route 22 for several hours this afternoon. The accident happened near the Burgettstown entrance ramp in Hanover Township. State Police are now identifing the victim as 46-year-old Kevin Jones, of Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Authorities report that he was killed in a construction zone by a passing driver. That driver did stop following the accident, officials say. The driver is identified as John Cebula, 51, from Mingo Junction, Ohio. Officials say he was wearing his seatbelt and was not injured. Officials say the man was taken to Weirton Medical Center and later died from his injuries. According to state police, the westbound side of the roadway from Burgettstown to the West Virginia state line has now been reopen to traffic. video


Mother of three slain

MISSION VALLEY, CA – A pregnant mother of three was killed at work in Mission Valley yesterday by a man who delivered her roses then shot her, police said. Dawna Denize Wright, 31, helped manage the office of Dr. Kristi Ann Dove for the past three years. “Dawna was a compassionate, very capable, intelligent woman, and she was extremely devoted to her three daughters,” said Dove, a neurologist. “This tragic loss will be felt deeply by all of those whose lives Dawna touched.” Roger McDowell, 34, was booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, said San Diego police Lt. Jeff Sferra. video


Hero worker dies from head injuries

NJ - Construction worker Mario Oberio Vieira, who was struck in the head Friday with a large metal pipe while saving a co-worker, died from his injuries Saturday at the Jersey City Medical Center. He was 44. The Bethlehem Township, Pa., man was at a D'Annunzio and Sons construction site at 13th and Monmouth streets in Jersey City Friday. As he stood outside his truck talking with a 19-year-old co-worker at around 1 p.m., a large pipe careened toward them from above. Vieira pushed the teenager out of the way but was not able to save himself. Yesterday, Vieira was described by his twin sons as a hero. "He knew that the kid was not ready to die yet, but my dad was, and he took that courageous step in saving that kid's life," said Michael, one of Vieira's 21-year-old sons. "It doesn't matter what age, gender, race, religion you were, my dad would have stepped in there for everybody." Bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose, Vieira was rushed to the Med Center Friday afternoon. He died Saturday morning.


Worker dies building police station

MN - A man working on construction of a new St. Paul police substation complained of not feeling well this afternoon, collapsed and died. Paramedics and police were called to the site of the old Chevy's Fresh Mex restaurant at 389 N. Hamline Ave., which was demolished in April to make way for the police's new Western District office, about 2:45 p.m. The man, whose name and age weren't immediately available, was taken to Regions Hospital and pronounced dead, said Tom Walsh, a police spokesman. The man had been working on scaffolding when he said he didn't feel well and needed to get down, and then collapsed, Walsh said. Whether the man had a pre-existing medical condition or the heat contributed to his death wasn't known. The temperature in St. Paul at 3 p.m. was 87 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's Chanhassen office.


Smithfield slaughterhouse worker dies, A reminder of the pork giant's anti-worker crimes

NC - On June 1, Smithfield Packing livestock worker Emmanuel McKoy died. He was 27 years old. McKoy suffered from type 1 diabetes and related health problems. He did not die while at work. McKoy worked at Smithfield’s Tar Heel, N.C., plant. It is the largest pork-processing plant in the world. Some 5,500 workers process 32,000 pigs each day. In the last seven months, McKoy was hospitalized on two occasions due to diabetes. His supervisor threatened to fire him if he missed any additional time from work. When McKoy returned to work following hospitalization, Smithfield put him on a job from which he could not be relieved to take his required insulin. McKoy was a proud supporter of the ongoing "Justice at Smithfield" campaign to organize a union at the plant. He fought the Smithfield bosses for access to clean drinking water, among other things. The untimely death of McKoy is a reminder of the horrifying working conditions at Smithfield.


Driver dead following cab crash, Medical problem might be the cause

IL - A cabdriver who may have suffered from a medical problem died Tuesday after crashing his car into a fence that surrounds Midway Airport, Chicago police said. Sibaq Shaik, 48, of the 5000 block of West School Street, was transporting one customer in the back seat when he lost control of the car about 6 a.m. in the 5400 block of West 55th Street, jumped a curb and crashed into the fence on the northern border of Midway. The passenger told police he heard Shaik make gurgling sounds just before the accident. video



Louisiana Deputy Killed in Crash, Funeral information below

A St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputy was killed Saturday morning and another deputy was injured when their car ran off the road while they were responding to a false report of a body on another parish highway. About two hours after they began their shifts, deputies Hilery A. Mayo Jr. and Mark Bott responded to a call about a body on Louisiana 21 north of Abita Springs. But as Mayo and Bott, who was training under Mayo, were heading east on Louisiana 40 about 8 a.m., Mayo lost control of his 2006 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser near North Factory Road, east of Folsom. The car swerved off the left side of the road and landed in a ditch, its passenger side striking a tree. St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain said news of the accident went out over the officers' radio "in a matter of seconds," but a deputy who responded to the scene was not able to save Mayo.


Cell Phone Tower Worker Killed in Fall

IN - A cell phone tower worker fell 75 feet to his death Thursday, police said. Nicholas Fischer, 21, of Mount Vernon, Ind., was on a cell phone tower and was holding onto a cable and a bracket when he fell onto the roof of a small building next to the tower, police said. Fischer, 21, was an employee of Tower Reinforcement Inc., based in Evansville, Ind. One of Fischer's coworkers told police he heard a click and then heard Fischer yell as he fell from the tower. A man who answered the telephone at the company and refused to give his name said the accident was under investigation. He said employees working on towers wear safety harnesses. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating.


2 in Phoenix perish on construction jobs

PHOENIX, Az - Two construction workers in Phoenix died on the job in the past week, authorities said. The most recent death occurred Saturday, when a worker was killed in a trench collapse. Phoenix police said the 42-year-old man, whose identity was not immediately released, was working on a 5- to 6-foot-deep trench at a planned Harkins movie theater in west Phoenix when the trench collapsed and he fell in around 3 p.m. The man, who was partially covered by dirt and concrete, was pronounced dead at the scene, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Joel Tranter said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the incident. On Tuesday, Francisco Lugo, 20, was crushed by a pipe at a different west Phoenix work site.


CHP Officer Dies In Fiery Crash

SAN DIEGO, CA -- Capital flags are flying at half-staff on Monday to honor a California Highway Patrol officer killed in a car accident over the weekend. The crash occurred about 10 miles west of the Officer Robert Dickey, 37, drove his car off the freeway and rolled several times, according to witnesses.Dickey later died at an area hospital. He is survived by his wife and son.


Nightclub Owner Killed In Parking Lot

HOUSTON, TX -- A nightclub owner was killed in the parking lot of his south Houston club early Monday, KPRC Local 2 reported. Houston police said Rosendo Rios tried to stop a robbery at a mobile taco stand in the parking lot of Mi Ranchito Night Club on Almeda Road near West Orem Drive at about 1 a.m. Investigators said Rios, 49, was shot in the head after he ran out when the taco stand employee yelled for help. Rios was transported to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died. Video


Scaffolding death

IN -- Scaffolding collapsed Saturday at a shopping mall construction site, killing one man and critically injuring a second after both fell about 40 feet, police said. A (Shane Pruitt) 29-year-old man from Van Wert, Ohio, was killed in the 11 a.m. EDT accident at Castleton Square Mall after suffering head injuries in the fall, said Sgt. Matthew Mount of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. His name was not released by authorities pending notification of his relatives. Abe Mallis, 39, of Greensburg was airlifted to Methodist Hospital with massive head and chest injuries about an hour after the collapse. He was listed in critical condition.


Quizno's Employee Killed Outside Restaurant

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Police said they're looking for a group that beat up and shot a Quizno's employee to death Saturday night on the city's Northside. A group of five men attacked Nathan Ramirez while he was taking trash to a Dumpster at 11 p.m. outside a Quizno's in the 8400 block of Broadway. A store manager grabbed a gun and fired a shot in the air to scare the attackers, police said. Afterward, one of the men shot Ramirez with a 9 mm pistol and the group fled the scene, police said. The same group may have robbed Ramirez Friday, police said. Ramirez's family said they believe one of the attackers was the boyfriend of a girl Ramirez met over the Internet and moved in with. The family said the girl's boyfriend recently had been released from jail and became angry after Ramirez borrowed his clothes. Video


County worker killed in fall near Rockville

MD - A Montgomery County employee died Tuesday morning after he fell while repairing a heavy equipment machine at the county’s Fleet Management Division’s facility on Crabbs Branch Way near Rockville. Stephen Peters, 55, of Walkersville was taken by ambulance to Shady Grove Hospital in Rockville when he died en route, said county spokesman Patrick K. Lacefield. Peters, a mechanic with the Department of Public Works and Transportation, was married with two children. ‘‘My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time,” County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. ‘‘His death is a tremendous loss not only to them, but to everyone who knew him.”


Investigation follows death of UP worker

AZ - A Union Pacific employee, who died in a single-vehicle rollover along Highway 191 last Tuesday, did not have a commercial driver's license as required by state law for the truck he was driving. The driver, Arthur O. Mendoza, 49, of Tucson, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, Errol McDonald, 49, also of Tucson, was airlifted to University Medical Center where he was treated and released, said Officer Quentin G. Mehr, District 8 administrative officer, Arizona Department of Public Safety. The accident occurred at about 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, when the company truck Mendoza was driving, a 2000 Volvo, was traveling northbound and ran off the road to the right, Mehr said. Mendoza attempted to correct, going off to the left, and then went off to the right again, running through a right-of-way fence. The truck rolled over on its top, where it came to rest, he said. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts, Mehr said.


Truck driver dies in accident at a transfer station

MILFORD, CT — A D'Amato Brothers Builders truck driver was killed in an accident at an Old Gate Lane transfer station Monday afternoon, authorities said. The name of victim was not released, but the Milford Fire Department said that the man died en route to a nearby trauma center following the 1:15 p.m. accident at Waste Conversion Technologies, located on Old Gate Lane across from the Hyatt Place hotel. The accident occurred in the rear yard of the transfer station, which stores mainly construction debris, and is accessible by a narrow driveway on the south side of the property. Details were sketchy Monday and the accident remained under investigation Monday afternoon, but an official at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Bridgeport office said it looks as though the driver was outside of his truck when he was struck by another truck in the yard.


Convenience Store Employee Killed During Robbery

TX - A convenience store employee was shot and killed during a robbery Monday afternoon in Bedford. Police say two suspects entered the D&S Foodmart on Pipeline Road in an attempted robbery. The suspects then shot store clerk Raj Bhansi Garaun, 28. A third suspect was reported by witnesses and may have been waiting outside the store. Gauran was pronounced dead when officers and medics arrived on the scene. Police released surveillance footage of the suspects, both black males. One of the suspects appeared to be wearing a distinctive designer style hat, which police hope will help someone to recognize him.


Shot bodega owner dies

NY - A Queens bodega owner shot in the face during a stick-up has died of his injuries. Family members were with Bolivar Cruz, 56, when he died Wednesday morning, said Andrew Rubin, a spokesman for Jamaica Hospital. Tuesday, police said the shooting was possibly the work of a violent holdup crew that has robbed more than a dozen small businesses since March. News of the pattern -- which now numbers 17 robberies and includes one other shooting -- was not released until Tuesday, raising questions about why the NYPD did not notify the public, as it often does by alerting the media.


Granite Construction employee dies at Felton facility

CA - A longtime employee of Granite Construction Inc. was killed in an industrial accident Tuesday at the company's Aggregate and Hot Mix Facility off Highway 9. Few details of the accident were released, and the incident remains under investigation. "There weren't any eyewitnesses," Granite Construction Director of Safety Bill Jackson said. The employee's identity was not released, pending notification of his family. The employee was a grade-checker, like a surveyor, on a four-man crew working to stabilize a steep slope and prevent erosion on the backside of the Felton facility, near Felton Quarry and Empire Grade roads, Tuesday morning. The other members of the crew were working on earth-moving machinery to stabilize a steep slope and prevent erosion, Jackson said.


1 dead in Jackson school van crash near Mendenhall

Jackson, MS — A Jackson teacher remained hospitalized Tuesday for treatment of injuries from an accident near Mendenhall that left one person dead, according to authorities. All seven people in the van were employees of Jackson’s Walton Elementary School. They were going to a conference in Biloxi when the accident occurred Monday. Mendenhall Deputy Police Chief Bruce Barlow identified the teacher killed in the accident as Connie Little Harrell of Jackson. Five of those hurt in the accident were released from local hospitals after being treated for injuries.


Landscaper dies after fall into cesspool

NY - A Central Islip landscaper died Tuesday of his injuries after falling into a cesspool while cutting a Deer Park lawn and being crushed by the quarter-ton mower, police said. Around noon, Sergio Reyes, 34, was mowing the backyard of a Commack Road home while another employee from PM Landscaping of Central Islip worked on the front yard, police said. The other landscaper, whose name was not released, went to the backyard and discovered Reyes trapped in the block-lined cesspool, his head above the liquid, with his lawn mower pinning him to the wall, police said.



Oil field worker killed in rollover of truck

ROOSEVELT, UT — A crash early Wednesday morning took the life of a 23-year-old oil field worker. Heath Mounga of Vernal died when the work truck he was a passenger in rolled after driving off state Route 88 about six miles south of the junction with U.S. 40. Utah Highway Patrol trooper Rex Olsen said 36-year-old Joseph Serfoss of Vernal was driving the truck, owned by Weatherford TRS, when the vehicle drifted off the right side of the road. Olsen said the driver then overcorrected and the truck went off the left side of the road before rolling about 5 a.m. Investigators believe Serfoss fell asleep at the wheel. Serfoss and another passenger, 30-year-old Stephen Torres of Vernal, escaped the crash with minor injuries. Mounga was dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, Olsen said. The crash forced the closure of state Route 88 — a main artery into Uintah County's southern oil and gas fields — for almost four hours.


Visitation Friday for teller killed in bank heist, Drive-thru now open at South Side bank

IL - Visitation will be held Friday for Tramaine Gibson, a bank teller who was shot and killed in a robbery last Tuesday on Chicago's South Side. Three suspects remain at large. The Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan Bank is one step closer to reopening. But there remains another toll as the bank and its employees work to move forward. Inside Illinois Service Federal, the scars are very evident from the gunfire that came in the bank robbery nine days ago. Soon, the holes left by so many bullets will be repaired, but the employees who work here have scars that will be very hard to heal. "What's been taken, although intangible, is measurable. I see it in the fatigue of the faces. I see it in how the younger employees respond to noises and activities around them," said Norman Williams, Illinois Service Federal CEO. Video


Angier Man Killed In Trench Collapse

NC - An Angier man died yesterday after being buried alive at a construction site in Holly Springs. Rudolpho Manasterio, 45, of 90 N. Park St. was killed when the ditch he was digging collapsed on top of him, burying his body for more than 12 hours, according to The News & Observer. The ditch was at least 10 feet deep. Workers for the Milton Grading and Utilities Company were digging the trench to install a sewer line off Third Street near downtown. Two other workers were in the ditch at the time of the collapse, but escaped, The News & Observer reported. According to the report, a Holly Springs police officer was the first to arrive on scene and began digging. Other rescue workers arrived on scene as well, but the operation became recovery when it became clear no one could survive being buried for that long. According to The News & Observer, the Urban Search and Rescue Team, made up of emergency responders from Orange, Durham and Wake counties worked to remove Mr. Manasterio's body from the hole. It was 3 a.m. before the construction worker's body was removed from the trench. The body was taken to the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office in Chapel Hill for an autopsy. more


Taxi Cab Driver Shot & Killed On The Job

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - Taxi cab drivers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the nation and that fact was proven true again early Thursday morning when a South Florida cab driver was shot and killed on the job. According to Miami-Dade police, a yellow taxi cab driver was called at 5:15 a.m. for a pickup near 28th Avenue & NW 167th Street in Miami Gardens. When he arrived, a suspect or suspects, shot him in the torso. It happened close to the Emmanuel Kindergarten and Day Care Center. The school opens at 6:00 a.m. and there were no children on the premises yet. Neighbors reported hearing multiple gun shots. After being shot, the cabbie tried to drive away but crashed through a fence and nearly hit a house at 2980 NW 167th Terrace.


Driver killed in construction accident near Eastwood Towne Center

MI - A mechanical failure caused a gravel hauler to dump its load of fill dirt today on another vehicle at a construction site, killing its driver. The two gravel haulers were hauling fill dirt about 1 p.m. at a construction site near Eastwood Towne Center when a hydraulic failure caused one to dump its load on the other’s cab, said Kay Hoffman, chief of the Lansing Township Police Department. The name of the victim was not available (Thomas Lee Passinault, 35,). Authorities were not able to extricate the victim late this afternoon, and his body remained in the cab. “I’ve been in Lansing Township for almost 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Hoffman said. The Victim Advocacy Unit from Lansing Police Department was comforting the victim’s family at the accident scene.



Cab Driver Killed In Algiers

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans police are investigating a shooting on the Westbank that left a cab driver dead Wednesday morning. Investigators said the 60-year-old victim was shot once in the head at about 7 a.m. He was found slumped over the steering wheel of his Yellow Cab along the 3100 block of Rose Lane in the Christopher Homes Development. A man who claimed he witnessed the shooting said he heard the cab's brakes squeal and the cab hit the fence in front of the apartment and bounce off the fence. He said a passenger in the cab had shot the driver and then ran from the area. However, police said they're having trouble getting more help from people in the neighborhood. "I think neighbors eventually will speak. What happens is there's a reluctancy on the scene because of being in the public view," Deputy Superintendent Marlon Defillo said. So far, there are no suspects or motives in the case. Video


Man Killed In Construction Accident

MI - Lansing Township Police are investigating a construction accident near the Eastwood Towne Center that killed one worker and injured another. "It appears to be an accident but we don't know what created this accident," said Township Police Chief Kay Hoffman. Authorities believe a dump truck owned by Burns trucking in Eaton Rapids had a mechanical failure. A hydrolic system may have malfunctioned causing the structure to bend. "It caused the load to shift and go on to the other vehicle," Hoffman said. That other vehicle was owned by Crandell Brothers Truckiing in Charlotte and driven by a 35-year-old Corunna man who was pronounced dead at the scene. Another worker was sent to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries.


Man dies on Arkansas River during swimming and rescue drills

CO - Brian Kirkwood, 46, an employee of American Adventures Expeditions, located in Salida and Buena Vista, collapsed and died on Monday, May 28, while performing swimming and rescue drills in the Pinball Rapids located on the Arkansas River near Nathrop, according to Chaffee County Sheriff Tim Walker. According to Walker, Colorado State Parks Rangers and Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services responded to the area where Kirkwood was in full cardiac arrest and CPR was in full progress. Kirkwood had collapsed in the river and had to be rescued. After being pulled to shore, CPR was performed and after a period of time, he was pronounced dead by Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center emergency room physician Bruce Gross. Kirkwood was taken to Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home and an autopsy is being scheduled by Chaffee County Coroner Randy Ammetis.


Shooting at motorcycle dealership leaves one dead

TN - A customer opened fire at a Kawasaki dealership in Bartlett Tuesday afternoon, killing one employee and wounding another. Soon after, the gunman was killed when his vehicle overturned as he attempted to flee Shelby County authorities. Initial reports identify the shooter only as a 17-year-old juvenile from Mason, Tenn. He crashed his vehicle as he traveled along Highway 70 in Arlington. The first victim, Glenn Page Jr., 32 of Cordova, died the scene at 6412 Summer Ave. The second employee, Cynthia Lester, was transported to The Med. She is reported to be in non-critical condition. Around 2:10 this afternoon, police responded to a possible armed robbery at the dealership. At a press conference held later at the scene, Bartlett Police Lt. Rory Mack, said the customer fired four shots from a 9mm handgun. Three of them hit Page. Early reports indicate the suspect had been in the store for hours. He had been approved Monday to purchase a motorcycle and was in the store to pick it up. While he waited for a friend, he suddenly opened fire on the two employees. The suspect then left the scene in a white four-door car. Early reports indicated no argument was apparent before the shootings.


Livermore man dies in Richmond factory fall

RICHMOND, CA - A contract worker who fell 70 feet to his death while repairing a conveyor belt Tuesday at a drywall factory in Richmond has been identified as 49-year-old Livermore resident Timothy Barney, according to the Contra Costa County coroner. Police conducted a preliminary investigation Tuesday, calling Barney's death unexplained. An autopsy on Barney's body was scheduled for today. Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said that investigators don't believe that any criminal act led to Barney's fall, which occurred at about 8:30 a.m. as Barney and a second man were on a catwalk inside National Gypsum Co.'s factory located at 1040 Canal Boulevard. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration also is investigating the incident. Barney worked for Jenson Mechanical, a Union City-based company, and had been contracted to repair Gypsum's conveyor belt, said Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer.


Explosion kills MW man

GRANBURY, TX — Two workers at a natural gas processing plant in Hood County reportedly sparked an explosion late Friday, killing a Mineral Wells man. Joshua Petrie, 27, died at 12:10 a.m. Saturday at Harris Methodist Hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Web site. The explosion occurred at 2400 County Rd 326. The death was ruled accidental as the result of blunt force trauma to the chest caused by an explosion. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported over the weekend that Petrie was employed by Quicksilver Resources. The paper quoted Hood County Fire Marshal Roger Deeds as stating the explosion occurred when two workers attempted to light a hot oil heater unit.



Ball bearing shoots out of equipment and kills worker

HUNTINGTON -- A Special Metals employee was killed when a ball bearing shot out of a piece of equipment being serviced and pierced his side, a spokeswoman said today. The plant's emergency medical technicians attempted to treat Roger Stephens, 57, but he died at the scene Sunday night, company spokeswoman Eileen Drake said Tuesday. The Wayne resident had worked at the plant since at least 1992. The plant has resumed production, but Special Metals plans to have counselors available Wednesday and Thursday, Drake said. The company also is working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is investigating. The last fatal accident at the Huntington plant occurred in 1996. The plant produces high-performance nickel-based alloys and super alloys.


Family Seeks Answers In Man's Work-Related Death

BALTIMORE -- Ten months after a Baltimore County man died in a construction zone, his family still has plenty of questions for investigators. Joseph Miranda, 19, of Lutherville, died July 20 after being crushed by a skid loader while working at Outside Unlimited, a landscaping company in Hampstead, his family said. Joseph Miranda's family sent a petition with about 500 signatures to Gov. Martin O'Malley and Attorney General Doug Gansler seeking a criminal investigation into his death. One of the many concerns they voiced was that the two men who gave statements about his death were never tested for drugs or alcohol. Video


Newark Liberty Airport worker killed on tarmac

A worker at Newark Liberty Airport was killed this morning. The Port Authority says the man was in his 40s and was towing a piece of equipment, used to stabilize planes fell on him. This all happened around 12:30 a.m. He was working on a 747 in Terminal B, when a piece of the equipment fell on him. Eyewitness News is told he was rushed by paramedics to University Hospital in Newark where he later died. The worker's name has not yet been released ( Timothy Gallagher) . An investigation is underway by Port Authority and OSHA.


Worker Takes Fatal Catwalk Fall In Richmond

RICHMOND,CA - Police and officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health were investigating the death of a man who fell from a catwalk Tuesday morning at a drywall factory in Richmond. At about 8:30 a.m., a man working on a catwalk inside National Gypsum Co.'s Richmond factory, located at 1040 Canal St., fell more than 75 feet off the catwalk, Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said. According to Plant Manager Gene Whittington, the man was a contract worker who had been repairing the catwalk when he fell. Whittington said that the company couldn't comment on the death because it was still under investigation, but that their main concern was for the worker's family and the man who witnessed the fall. Gagan said that a man who was on the catwalk with the man who fell was not injured. Richmond police are investigating the incident as an unexplained death, but Gagan said that police have no reason to believe that a criminal act led to the man's death. Police were waiting to release the man's name until they have notified his family.


Richville man dies in truck accident

MN - Sundberg Apiaries is mourning a long-time employee who died Thursday in an accident near Scott City, Mo., hauling back the last load of bees for the season. Alan Hunter, 37, Richville, was returning from Mississippi, driving a tractor-trailer with 360 colonies of bees, each containing about 25,000 bees. While northbound on Interstate 55 south of Scott City, Hunter’s semi swiped the guardrail of a bridge and went off the road several hundred feet before overturning in a field, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene. “This has really thrown us into a tailspin,” said Mark Sundberg, Sundberg Apiaries owner. Hunter had worked for Sundberg Apiaries for 16 years. “He was a good friend to all of us. He was a real hard worker and definitely a family man. He was a guy you could count on to get the job done.” The accident’s cause is unknown. “He either fell asleep or became distracted,” said Trooper Aaron Harrison, who responded to the scene. The large number of bees at the scene presented a challenge to rescue workers.


Beaten Probation Officer Dies

MN - Howard Porter, the Ramsey County probation officer, who was hospitalized after being found severely beaten, has died. Porter, 58, had been hospitalized since he was found on May 19, with no identification. Police say it is not clear whether the assault is related to his job as a parole officer, but investigators are looking into his clients as possible suspects in the case. No arrests have been made in the case, and police are waiting on autopsy results to determine the official cause of death.


Worker dies after blast at metal shop

PA - A worker at a metal-plating plant in Chester County died yesterday from burns suffered in a boiler explosion Saturday night that critically injured two coworkers. The three men were working about 9:45 p.m. in the melt shop at Mittal Steel in South Coatesville when the boiler exploded. Two men were flown to the Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where one later died and the other was in critical condition, a nursing supervisor said last night. The third worker, identified by family as 38-year-old William Solen Jr., was airlifted to Temple University Medical Center, where he was in critical condition yesterday, his mother, Janice Solen, said. Police and fire officials were not available for comment yesterday. The Chester County Fire Marshal could not be reached for comment about the cause of the blast and a Mittal Steel spokesman did not return calls. Mittal Steel, formerly ISG Plate, is in the old Lukens Steel complex in South Coatesville. The company provides steel plating for industrial uses.


Oxnard man crushed by SUV at used-car lot, Worker pinned as truck was moved

CA - An Oxnard man died instantly Saturday morning after being crushed by a 2-ton Ford Explorer in a grisly accident at an outdoor used-car lot. Richard Guerrero, a salesman at Automobile Exchange on Saviers Road in Oxnard, was directing another salesman who was driving the SUV onto a display ramp in preparation for Memorial Day weekend. Oxnard police said the driver accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. The front part of the car launched over the restraining lip of the ramp and into Guerrero's head and shoulders. The 47-year-old victim, who had been working at the lot for only a couple of months, was crushed against a building. He died about 10:40 a.m. "It appears to be just a horrible accident," said Craig Stevens, Ventura County senior deputy medical examiner.

The driver, Clemente Mendez, 59, of Oxnard, was interviewed by officials and left the Oxnard Police Department late in the afternoon.


Worker Dies In Granbury Gas Explosion

GRANBURY, TX - A gas plant worker died in an explosion Saturday and some Hood County residents said this is not the first time the plant's presence has rocked their community. The explosion happened at a gas processing plant near Granbury in the Peanut Plantation Subdivision. Investigators aren't sure what sparked the blast in a heating unit that killed the 27-year old worker. Some residents of the nearby community have complained of the gas plant next door. They say the explosion is all the incentive they need to demand the plant shut down. Firefighters in the area, however, say they haven't had any other safety problems with the plant since it began operation. video


Worker killed at Tribune printing plant

IL - A contract worker at the Chicago Tribune's printing plant died in a conveyor belt accident Saturday morning. The body of Isaiah Shannon, 44, of the 400 block of Tremont Street in Chicago, was found caught in a conveyor belt about 10:30 and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Chicago police said his body had been severed. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday. Chicago Tribune spokesman Michael Dizon said the death occurred at the Freedom Center, the newspaper's printing plant near Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue. Both Dizon and a police source familiar with the investigation said detectives ruled the death an accident. Shannon's niece, Felecia Bland, 39, who lives at the Tremont Street address, said a detective told her Saturday afternoon that her uncle was working on a conveyor belt machine and it "somehow got started and he got caught up in it."


Video-store worker killed

Sanford, FL- Sanford police early today were investigating the shooting death of a video-store worker who was the victim of an apparent robbery, authorities said this morning. Police were called to Video News at 2913 Orlando Drive after a male employee in his mid-30s was shot inside the store, Sanford police spokeswoman Cleo Cohen said. The two attackers entered the store about 10:45 p.m., she said. Further information was not immediately available.


Cleveland Heights police officer dies from gunshot wounds

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - A police officer died early Saturday, hours after he was shot while responding to a domestic disturbance in this Cleveland suburb, an assistant coroner said. Jason West was brought to the Cuyahoga County coroner's office at 3:05 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds, Dr. Andrea McCollom said. His age was not immediately available. West was shot at about 10 p.m. after police tried to break up a large crowd that had gathered to watch an argument, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported. He was taken to Huron Hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. West had been on the police force for five or six years and had recently bought a home in Cleveland Heights, Mayor Ed Kelley said. "Cleveland Heights is saddened by the tragic and senseless death of Officer West," Kelley said in a statement. "All morning, residents have been expressing their concern and offering prayers." The police department refused to comment until Chief Martin Lentz was scheduled to give a statement later Saturday.


Correctional officer killed in Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD - Lt. Perry Brooks, a 23-year veteran correctional officer, was found dead in his car Friday morning at his northeast Baltimore City home. Baltimore police are investigating his shooting death as a homicide. Brooks, 48, most recently worked as a supervisor at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center. He began his career in the Pre-Release System of the Maryland Division of Correction in 1984. He worked at Brock Bridge Correctional Facility in Jessup and Central Laundry Facility in Sykesville.



Bank security guard expresses sympathy for slain co-worker


CHICAGO, IL - Bank security guard Earl Coleman has expressed sympathy for a co-worker who was fatally shot this week when three masked robbers entered a South Side bank and opened fire. The 53-year-old Coleman was shot during the robbery along with two others, including 23-year-old bank teller Tramaine Gibson, who was killed. Coleman called Gibson's death "tragic." He described him as a nice family man. Coleman was treated for his wounds at an area hospital and released yesterday. Dorothy Sanders, a 73-year-old bank patron who also was shot, remained hospitalized in fair condition tonight.


Man killed by wood chipper

DALLAS PLANTATION, TX - A Strong man killed in an industrial accident Wednesday was remembered Thursday as a caring person, a hard worker, and someone who was always willing to help his family and others. Mt. Abram High School graduate James "Jimmy" Lightbody, 32, died after he was hit in the chest with a 30-pound steel safety cover that was ripped from its hinges by a chipping blade, police said. "Jimmy was always a hard worker. He had many friends and was always willing to help out his family and he loved the outdoors," family friend, Marcus Rowe of Phillips, said. "He was doing what he loved to do and that was working with trees." Lightbody was working for Lucas Tree Experts based in Portland, operating a wood chipper along Camp Waya-Iwi Road in Dallas Plantation, as he and a co-worker were removing brush along the road for Central Maine Power Co., Maine State Police Trooper Scott Stevens said.


Carpenter, Med employee, dies at 38

IL - The Hyde Park community is mourning the death of Charles Carpenter, 38, a popular employee at the Medici Bakery. Carpenter was shot and killed Saturday night after an altercation on the 2500 block of East 79th Street. For the past seven years, Carpenter has been the face of the Medici, making a lasting impression on customers and fellow employees with his friendly and approachable nature. Medici regulars were visibly shaken upon hearing the news of Carpenter’s death. Kirsten Esterly, the Medici’s general manager, described the impact of Carpenter’s death on Medici employees: “It’s tough; we’re barely hanging in there…. He had a very big impact on everyone in the neighborhood,” she said. Esterly said Carpenter was a highly dependable employee whose smile will be remembered by all who knew him.


Woman shot to death in Huntington Village

NY - Before dawn on Friday, police said, Robert Anderson waited in the alley across from the Huntington village bagel shop he co-owned with his estranged wife. After she arrived, he entered the popular Wall Street shop and confronted his wife of almost 20 years, Ann Anderson, to talk about the distribution of goods from a messy divorce. But she was dismissive, police said, and he became enraged. Aiming a .22-caliber pistol, he shot her once in the side. Then, standing over her, he fired several bullets into her head and neck, killing her, Suffolk police said. "He stalked her, confronted her, shot her and then shot her repeatedly," said Suffolk police Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the homicide squad. Anderson, 66, of 232 Avalon Circle in Smithtown, was arrested outside his home hours after the shooting and charged with one count of second-degree murder, Fitzpatrick said, adding that Anderson had confessed to the killing.


Construction worker killed in I-40 wreck

SEVIERVILLE, TN - A construction worker died Thursday when a semi-truck struck his vehicle while he was working on Interstate 40. Fifty-year-old Mike Guinn was in a road grader when it was struck by a tractor-trailer at 12:40 a.m. Thursday. The impact ejected Guinn from the grader. He was pronounced dead at Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center. The driver of the truck, 38-year-old Vidas Zimkus of Lamont, Ill., was not injured, authorities said. Charges may be filed against Zimkus, officials said.


Montauk teen killed as father watched

A college student, just returned home to Montauk for the summer, was killed Friday after he was crushed by the boom of a construction crane while working alongside his father, East Hampton police said. A heartbroken Gary Simenson described the last moments of his son, Lars G. Simenson, 18, who had returned Thursday from New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, R.I., where he studied engineering. "I watched him die in front of me this morning," the father said. "He was a good kid; everyone loved him. He died in my hands." Lars G. Simenson, of Fairview Avenue, was pronounced dead at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport after he was airlifted from the work site, police said.


Driver cited in deadly garbage

A garbage truck driver was given a traffic citation after his co-worker was run over and killed May 3 while the two were on a collection route in Inverness. Richard “Tripp” Imhoff, 20, was a sanitation worker for F.D.S. Disposal in Lecanto and a former student at Crystal River High School. According to Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins, Imhoff was riding on the back of a garbage truck that was backing up on East Dove Court in Inverness. As the truck backed up, Imhoff fell and the truck backed over him. He died as a result of his injuries later that day. The driver, Kevin Kennedy, 45, of Crystal River, was ticketed by FHP for improper backing under state statute 316.1985. He is scheduled for a hearing June 8.


Man, woman dead after shooting at Kent business

KENT, WASH. -- A man and a woman are dead after a shooting at a Kent business Friday afternoon. King County sheriff's Sergeant John Urquhart says a man armed with a handgun shot a woman employee in the back of the Mail and More postal store in the Panther Lake strip mall and then killed himself. The woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she died. A nursing supervisor at Harborview confirmed the death. The relationship between the two and the motive for the shooting is under investigation. Detectives questioned a man who was in the store and heard the shots but did not see the shooting. The gun was found at the scene.


Store operator is killed, brother wounded

WASHINGTON PARK, MO — The operator of a beauty supply store was killed and his brother wounded Friday morning in a shooting that erupted after two men in ski masks entered the store, police said. Loai Mouton, 27, of Bridgeton, was pronounced dead of a gunshot wound to his chest at 11:24 a.m. in the emergency room at Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis. His brother Muhammed Almuddan, 25, was treated for a gunshot wound to his legs, according to Washington Park Police Chief Isadore Chambers. They said they were uncertain exactly what prompted the shooting, though they added that there appeared to be bad blood between the operators of the store and some customers.


Small-plane crash in Wayne County kills two federal coyote hunters

UT - Correction: The two men killed in a plane crash while hunting coyotes Friday in Wayne County worked for Wildlife Services. A story in Saturday's edition misidentified the federal agency. Two federal Wildlife Services predator-control officers were killed in a single-engine plane crash Friday morning while hunting coyotes in Wayne County. The two-seater plane, owned by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, went down about 8:30 a.m. on Parker Mountain, west of Loa. Police have not released the cause of the crash or the names of the victims.


Russell County Superintendent dies

GA - Vivian Carter, superintendent of Russell County schools, died at 12:30 pm today, said Russell County Coroner Arthur Sumbry. Carter was rushed to a hospital Saturday night after being the keynote speaker at an American Businesswoman's Association function at Chattahoochee Valley Community College. He listed the cause of death as unknown. Carter had been in the job for about half a year. When asked in early November the most important factor in her decision to accept the job, Carter said, "I want to be given an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in the Russell County School district." Carter, 57, worked for Barbour County Schools for 18 years, including the last year as director of federal program services. She succeeded Rebecca Lee, who resigned in July.


Worker dies of apparent electrical shock

KENDALLVILLE, Ind. — A worker clearing limbs from near power lines in a northeastern Indiana city was killed by an apparent electrical shock, authorities said. Rodney McDowell, 40, of Fort Wayne, was trimming trees Saturday afternoon when his foreman said it appeared McDowell was holding a branch close to the wire that arced, according to Gary Hammer, a Noble County deputy coroner. Emergency crews tried to revive McDowell, but he was pronounced dead at the scene in the city about 25 miles north of Fort Wayne. Hammer said an official cause of death would be determined after an autopsy was performed.



Backhoe operator killed in job accident

MOBILE, AL - A 27-year-old backhoe operator was killed in a road-repair accident at a construction site in west Mobile, police said. William LaBarron Tricksey was pronounced dead at the accident scene about 1:30 p.m. Friday. Tricksey was out of the cab of the backhoe when the accident occurred and somehow hit a lever that lowered the boom of the machine, pinning him between the boom and the outrigger, Mobile police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said. Tricksey was an employee of Gulf Equipment Co. and was working on widening a street. A federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration official arrived to investigate the accident


Taxi Driver Hit After Police Chase Dies

SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- A taxi driver struck by an SUV fleeing a high-speed police pursuit last weekend died Sunday morning, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said. Walid Chahine, 45, died one week after his cab was struck by an SUV driven by Javier Morales, 29, of Somerville. He is the second person killed in the crash. A third person was seriously injured. The state police have extended their sympathies to the victims of the crash and said they are reviewing their policies in high-speed pursuits. Morales has been arraigned on charges of motor-vehicle homicide.


Utility worker killed when elevated bucket falls in Othello, WA

OTHELLO, Wash. -- A utility truck's aerial bucket collapsed during a school demonstration Thursday, killing a utility company employee and injuring a grade school teacher as about 600 students watched. The pair had been lifted 20 to 30 feet in the air when the boom separated from its base and fell, Police Chief Steve Dunnagan said in a news release. They were thrown from the bucket when it hit the ground outside Hiawatha Elementary School. The dead man, an employee of Avista Utilities, was identified as Bob Smith, 50, of Othello, who suffered apparent head injuries. The teacher, Melissa Martinez, was hospitalized for treatment of what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.


Suspect in workplace killing booked into jail

AZ - A young woman is dead after being killed inside her Phoenix workplace and the suspect faces murder charges. It happened at an office complex in the 7000 block of west Indian School Road. Police say the victim, 18-year-old Norma Gabriella Contreras, was in the office about 7 a.m. Saturday when the altercation occurred. Someone heard her screaming and called 911. The person who made that call also reportedly saw the suspect, Stephen Reeves, leave the building. Police were able to catch up with Reeves and inside the car, police say they found things that belonged to the victim. At this stage in the investigation police think she was chosen at random. Contreras suffered trauma to her upper body and died on the scene. Reeves was booked into jail on one count of first degree murder, one count armed robbery and one count of vehicle theft.


Man is crushed by truck at Wise Foods plant

BERWICK, Pa. (AP) - An Indiana County man was crushed by a tractor-trailer full of potatoes at the Wise Foods plant. Rodger Bennett, 63, of Strongstown, was between the rig and the loading dock Thursday afternoon when the truck backed up, crushing him. Bennett died at the scene. Officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating


Cave In Fatally Crushes Worker

AZ - A 25-year-old Mesa construction worker helping lay large drainage pipes in a hole died after a wall of dirt crushed him inside a pipe Thursday morning near downtown Queen Creek. Rescue workers dug for four hours to find Marcos Garcia, who had sought refuge inside the corrugated metal pipe when the dirt began pouring in, authorities said. The incident came a day after dirt fell and crushed another pipe at the Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads work site. No one was reported injured. The mangled metal from Wednesday's incident still sat on the property during the rescue attempt Thursday.


The Heat May Have Killed A Farm-Worker In The Valley

CA - The state is investigating the case. The 54 year old Mexican National died last Wednesday next to a packing house on the outskirts of Kettleman City. The United Farm Workers Union claims the foreman ignored the man's complaints. The worker became ill and died several hours later. The coroner has not released the cause of death. Cal-OSHA is trying to figure out if the contractor provided the worker proper shade and work breaks.


Construction worker killed in Gatlinburg accident

GATLINBURG, TN - A construction worker was killed in an accident Friday morning while working at a resort expansion site. Travis Joe Williamson, 28, worked for the construction contractor C. Laney and Sons Construction Company. The accident was at the site of an expansion project for the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort. A press release from the Gatlinburg Police Department says Williamson was apparently pinned under a piece of heavy equipment he was operating. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.


Woman Identified In Fatal Accident At Dayton International

DAYTON, Ohio -- Authorities said a 21-year-old woman died from injuries that she suffered while working at Dayton International Airport. Catrina Coffman worked for Pinnacle Airlines, and got caught in a small baggage elevator on Wednesday. The coroner’s office said Coffman died of asphyxia and blunt force injury to her torso. The coroner ruled the death an accident. Officials said the Occupational Safety And Health Administration and the airline are investigating the death. The last death that was reported at the airport was in February 2006, when pallets fell on a man.



Worker dies after being buried alive


AZ - A 25-year-old construction worker died while laying large drainage pipes in a trench near downtown Queen Creek. Marcos Garcia of Mesa was crushed by a wall of dirt as the hole collapsed Thursday morning, authorities said. At about 8:30 a.m., two workers installing 8-foot pipe in a trench about 15 feet below ground level heard "collapsing sounds," said Doug Matteson, a Maricopa County Sheriff Department spokesman. One of the workers was able to get out and was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, Matteson said. Members of Rural Metro, Mesa Fire and Gilbert Fire were at the scene for the effort, which turned from a rescue to a recovery at about 10:30 a.m., said Alison Cooper, spokeswoman for Rural Metro Fire Department Rescue workers dug for four hours to find Garcia. His body was recovered in the collapsed pipe at about 1 p.m. He apparently had sought refuge inside the pipe when the dirt began pouring down. The incident came a day after falling dirt crushed another pipe at the work site. "Apparently, they had a very similar incident yesterday. It was not reported through 911 . . . we were unaware of it until we pulled up to the scene," Cooper said. The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are investigating the accident. The site of accident, near the intersection of Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads, is part of a Queen Creek downtown revitalization project and will one day house a Super Wal-Mart and other businesses.


State looks into working conditions of deceased farmworker

CA - The state is investigating the death of a worker who died of a suspected heat-related illness after picking fruit in an orchard near Kettleman City. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is probing whether labor contractor YNT Harvesting provided enough shade and breaks to 54-year-old Eladio Hernandez. Union officials say Hernandez started feeling ill while he was picking apricots on May ninth, but the foreman ignored his complaints. They say it was only after he fell off a ladder that he was allowed to sit under a tree, and hours later the foreman dropped him off at the sorting facility where he died. The coroner has not yet determined the cause of death, but authorities suspect it was heat-related.Woman shot to death in Huntington Village

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